


Of Gods and Magic

by Circe_Witch



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Female Harry Potter, Gen, Intelligent!Harry, amoral!Harry, grey!Harry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-08
Updated: 2016-10-08
Packaged: 2018-08-20 06:17:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8239075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Circe_Witch/pseuds/Circe_Witch
Summary: People are rarely what you expect, but Iolanthe Potter takes it a step farther. She'd nothing like the savior the Wizarding World was expecting. If only they knew the truth.





	

**Author's Note:**

> General Disclaimer: All this work is based on J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter Series. I own nothing. I am NOT making any money from this.

The quaint and quiet suburb of Little Whinging in Surrey was quite a normal neighborhood. Everyone who lived there believed it, though none more so than the Dursley Family. 

 

Vernon Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills. He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large mustache. Petunia Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbors. The Dursleys had a son called Dudley and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere. He had a large pink face, not much neck, small, watery blue eyes, and thick blond hair that lay smoothly on his thick, fat head. 

 

The last member of the family (if it could be called that) was unknown to many and it wasn't because she was shy or timid as many would believe. It was because the Dursleys despised her very existence and went to great lengths to make her as invisible as possible unless they had no other choice. 

 

Her name was Iolanthe and she was the niece of Mrs. Dursley through her sister, Mrs. Potter and her good-for-nothing husband who were as unDursleyish as it was possible to be. 

 

She was, it was whispered by everyone on the street of Privet Drive and then some, just like those good for nothing parents of hers. If only they knew the truth and the darkness they had growing right user their noses.   

 

**\----ooooOooOoooo----**

 

The girl called freak, curled into a ball in the middle of the dark and spider infested cupboard, trying to muffle the sound of her stomach growling with hunger and her choked sobs from the pain. She'd been thrown into her cupboard again because the loud woman saw her playing with Dudley's blocks. 

 

She hadn't been happy. But what was wrong about making the blocks fly? The people she'd had before coming here hadn't said anything against it. They didn't care if she flew around or changed the color of the man's hair. They'd been happy, not angry. 

 

The loud woman had slapped her and made her new tooth cut her lip. It was still bleeding and she didn't feel so good. 

 

The large man had yelled at her too and even slapped her after the loud woman had talked with him. Why did they hurt her? Why didn't they treat her like the red haired woman and the black haired man she'd been staying with before this?  

 

The large man then grabbed her by the arm and she'd tried to get away but he twisted it and there was a snap before the pain started. She'd started screaming and the loud man dragged her by the hurting arm and shoved her in the cupboard before locking the door. 

 

Why did they treat her like this? 

 

She hiccuped and clutched her arm when the pain started getting worse. Freak wished with everything that she had that the pain would just go away. She didn't want it anymore.   

 

A developing mind, especially one as young as the young girl's could bear a great strain, but this was too much even for her. In a single moment, her psyche broke and with it, the more primal and cold-blooded part of her mind took control. 

 

And the power she'd felt under her skin for as long as she had been alive answered. She watched dispassionately as it flowed down her arm and onto her hand, consuming it completely. There was a soft white glow for several moments before the pain faded along with the large purple fingerprint bruises like it was never there 

 

The Dursleys had no idea what they had unleashed. 

 

**\----ooooOooOoooo----**

 

Freak stood on a stool in front of the stove and watched the bacon cook like Aunt Petunia had told her to. Her eyes never wandered, not once, in the 10 minutes she had been standing there. She’d learned that lesson the first time it had happened. The Dursleys were not kind to her if she didn’t follow their orders. 

 

Petunia stalked into the kitchen and screeched. "Take the bacon off the pan! It's almost burnt! How many times do I have to tell you?!" 

 

Freak ducked the frying pan the shrieking woman swung at her and as quickly as possible, used the spatula to scrape the bacon off the pan and onto a large plate. The plate was already half full.  

 

Petunia set out several more pieces of bacon and snapped out, "And if I catch you not paying attention, you'll be getting no food for the day." 

 

Freak nodded her head obediently, "Yes, Aunt Petunia." and waited until the footsteps faded away before filching some of the eggs, bacon, and a slice of toast for breakfast. She'd learned fast enough not to put Petunia past not feeding her on purpose. She'd done that more than once.  

 

She plated another two more pans full of eggs and bacon before walking them all to the kitchen table. Vernon sat at the chair closest to the entrance, his big bulk nearly squishing the chair. Petunia sat daintily on her chair and looked impatient, so Freak put the plates down quickly. Dudley, their very large son, immediately pilfered the food, stuffing his face with it until he looked like a pig. 

 

"School will be starting in a month, Vernon. I need to take little Diddy-kins shopping." She started cooing at the boy who was pigging out over his breakfast. "The teachers are going to love you, my darling." 

 

Vernon grunted. "And the girl?" 

 

Freak's ears perked up at the sound of her name but she didn't show any of her curiousness. Questions were banned in this house and she didn't want to be sent to her cupboard again. 

 

Petunia's mouth scrunched up in distaste. "She'll have to go too. Otherwise the neighbors will start asking questions." 

 

Another grunt accompanied by a glare aimed at her. Freak pretended not to notice, making herself as small as possible. She went back to the kitchen to clean up and Petunia soon came in to hand her a list of chores that had to be finished by the time she and Dudley came back. 

 

Vernon left, followed closely by Petunia and Dudley after she shoved Freak out the door. Freak sighed and looked at the list. Weed and water the gardenmow the lawn, and prune the hedges. Easy enough. But first she unlocked the front door with the key hidden under the planter and put it back before walking back into the kitchen. She drew herself a large glass of water, drank it down completely, and started her chores (after making sure the door was fully locked again). 

 

It was when she was pulling at a rather stubborn that wouldn't come out that Freak heard something. She stopped and listened. 

 

Hissing. Something was hissing in the poppies. She had never heard that sound before; kind of like the sound of bacon cooking. It was odd but so so she. 

 

The animal making the noise slithered out of the flowers only moments later. It was long and lean and very, very green. But not the same green as her eyes. Rather, it was the color of the tree leaves, it's skin pebbled with bits of brown and black, and clear black orbs on either side of it's face. It was both beautiful and frightening at the same time. 

 

" _Food. Food. Where are the mice?_ " The voice sounded female. Freak picked up the shovel lying on the ground. He fingers clenched around it.  

 

" _What are you?_ " Freak didn't even realize that her voice had slipped into a hiss. 

 

The creature's head snapped up. " _Ohhhh....a young hatchling. You can speak to me._ " It slithered close to her. Freak froze in place, not daring to move. She didn't have good memories of animals. The bulldog Ripper had bit her when Marge, Dudley's aunt and Vernon's younger sister, had visited two weeks ago for Dudley's sixth birthday. The Dursleys had left her in her cupboard rather than take her to the hospital. The bite healed within two days but the scar was still on her skin. 

 

The creature's forked tongue slid out and touched her cheek several times like it was tasting her. " _Very young._ " Another tongue flick and it rested it's head on her shoulder, imperiously stating, " _You may scratch my head._ " 

 

Freak stared at the creature in disbelief, only acting when it hissed again. It's skin was pebbly and not at all odd.  

 

" _I will be staying with you from now on, little hatchling._ " 

 

Freak started. " _You can't. Aunt Petunia doesn't like animals in the house._ " She only put up with Ripper because of Marge. 

 

" _I will hide. Where do you rest?_ " 

 

Nothing Freak could say made the snake go away. It tightened it's body around her shoulders each time she said it couldn't stay. Soon, it's coils were around her throat and Freak knew that she was losing the battle. 

 

When Petunia came back hours later, the creature was wrapped around her waist and hidden under her baggy hand-me-down shirt, only to be released into her cupboard before she had to help cook dinner. 

 

After she was locked in for the night, Freak spoke with the creature for hours on end.  

 

**\----ooooOooOoooo----**

 

 **Never let your guard down.**  

 

A very small, waif like child with black hair and flat emerald green eyes walked quickly through the streets of Little Whinging. Her eyes, hidden behind large circular glasses, were constantly scouring her surroundings and her hands were clenched on her ratty and patched backpack.  

 

 **Never show emotion.**  

 

Iolanthe Potter weaved in and around bushes and cars, gardens and fences to reach her destination. She did not walk in plain sight nor did she draw attention to herself. She was as silent as a ghost and just as emotionless. Because showing emotions was just giving the Dursleys more ammunition to use against her. Something she'd learned even before her mind split.  

 

It was on the street of Privet Drive that she trudged up the driveway and quietly opened the front door. No one knew she'd gotten in and no one knew she was there. Just how she liked it.  

 

Rather than go up the stairs, she opened the padlocked door of the cupboard under the stairs and went inside. The cupboard was where she slept, did her homework, and lived. Not because there wasn't any room for her in the other bedrooms of the house but because the Dursleys felt that a freak like her shouldn't foul up the air of normal people.  

 

It was one of the regular bits of venom they would spew at her in between ordering her about to do all the chores in the house or to play target to their anger and rage. The latter happened regularly. If it wasn't Vernon coming back to the house drunk once a month, it was Dudley and his pack of rabid goons. They chased her in their favorite game of Lanthe Hunting and if they caught her...she usually blocked that part out. 

 

Iolanthe turned on the small light bulb on the inside of the cupboard and unpacked everything in her backpack. Today was her end of her third form at St. Gregory's primary school and she would miss the classes if not the people in them. They were her one reason to be away from this nightmare house for too long. 

 

Now she was under the watchful eye of Petunia and would be forced to complete a ridiculous amount of chores to the horse's satisfaction. The only good parts would be the summer classes she was forced to take along with Dudley considering her grades were borderline passing like his. 

 

Not that Iolanthe was not a bad student. Her reception teacher had actually suggested she skip first form all together. Things got worse when Dudley drew attention to her all A report card at the end of the first term. 

 

She could remember Vernon shouting at her to get in her cupboard, while Petunia phoned the school to tell them she was cheating off Dudley (which she snorted at because Dudley was the biggest idiot she'd ever met), and Dudley watched this all like the budding sociopath he was. 

 

She learned quickly that good grades meant no food. Since then, she'd kept her grades only a point ot two near Dudley's while studying and reading on her own time. Time she had a lot of when she wasn't running from the fat lump. 

 

 **The only person you can rely on is yourself.**  

 

Dudley had already scared off all the kids at St. Gregory's from being her friends and Petunia took care of the parents so there was no one for her to turn to except herself. She didn't trust anyone, especially adults. In her mind, they were just bloody minded sheep who couldn't think for themselves. 

 

The thoughts might be bitter for someone so young, but her heart had darkened years ago and there was no going back now. 

 

Iolanthe had long ago realized that the Dursleys were rather predictable, except when it came to her. They preferred a sort of schedule. 

 

First, Petunia would get up an hour before Vernon and bang on Iolanthe's cupboard door to wake her up to make breakfast. Vernon would then come down an hour later, followed by Dudley half past that. Vernon would then bark at her to go get the mail or to comb her hair before leaving for work only minutes later. Soon after, Iolanthe would be given the burnt parts of the meal and a glass of tap water for breakfast. 

 

On weekends, Petunia would hand Iolanthe a large list of chores to be completed by the week's end with threats of no food if she failed. Depending on his laziness, Dudley would then complain to his mother that he didn't want to do that the hard homework and to make the freak do it. Petunia, who never said no to anything that he precious son asked for, would hand the papers off to Iolanthe and hiss at the girl to have them finished before school, or else. 

 

Unlike what Petunia thought Iolanthe didn't mind doing the work and the practice problems were not a chore for her. Especially maths. She did them so well in fact, that the teachers sang Dudley's praises as a budding maths prodigy. 

 

Iolanthe had to keep quiet when Vernon declared this in the living room because she would be on the floor, laughing hysterically otherwise. 

 

If only he knew. But there were many things Vernon didn't know. Chief among them was the money Iolanthe was carefully collecting from them. She wouldn't call it stealing, oh no, this was the money the greedy pigs owed to her as their unpaid maid, gardener, servant, and housekeeper. 

 

They shoved their castoffs and burnt meals at her while their son was given dozens of presents at every birthday, lavish vacations every year, and spoiled rotten. 

 

A pound a day, a five here or there, and even ten to twenty pounds on days Vernon went to the pub and got drunk on whisky until he couldn't tell which way was up. He never noticed how much he drank away on those days so he never batted an eyelash more than usual went missing from his wallet. However, Iolanthe had to be more careful with Petunia. She had sharper eyes and a nose for when Iolanthe was doing something she wasn't suppose to. 

 

It all amounted to a rather large nest egg. Money she hid with the broken toys and electronics in Dudley's second bedroom. The place was pigstie and Dudley never set food in the room unless he was throwing something in. 

 

School was harder with the sharp-eyed teachers but Iolanthe had quick fingers and long ago mastered the art of hiding in plain sight. It was necessary in a house that small. A house where getting caught out of bounds meant a beating and no food. 

 

She could get into students backpacks during recess or lunch and no one noticed. If they did, she was never suspected. The odd Potter girl with her baggy old clothes, broken glasses, and the weird scar on her forehead was always in the library.  

 

They never even considered it even though none of them, be it students or teachers, liked her for some reason.  

 

While they ran around looking for their lunch money, pencils, crayons, or candy bars, Iolanthe would be quietly sitting at her desk at the corner of the room and hiding her cold smile behind her long hair. 

 

A hiss from the pile of Dudley's most patched and frayed hand-me-downs had her pulling them gently to the side to reveal the Common European Adder she had named, Diamond, for the diamond shaped pattern on her scales. 

 

Hiding her from the Dursleys hadn't been easy especially so when Marge brought Ripper to visit. But Diamond wasn't a pushover and bit the dog the first chance she got, actually sending Marge and the demon dog back to their own house. It was one of the few times Iolanthe wasn't blamed for something. 

 

" _How are you?_ " 

 

" _Well little hatchling._ " Diamond rubbed her head against Iolanthe's hand in an affectionate manner reminiscent of a cat. " _It would only be better if I had a sunny rock and a stock of mice. But this is just as well._ " 

 

Iolanthe wasn't one to feel guilty about things—guilt meant slipping up—but this was one area she continued to feel guilty about. She couldn't give her first friend, her only friend, a good environment. 

 

" _Sorry._ " She mumbled. 

 

" _But you take good care of me hatchling. I would have a hard time finding shelter during the winter if not for you._ " Her forked tongue flicked out and gently flicked over Iolanthe's hand. 

 

" _Thank you. Do you want me to let you out to hunt?_ " Diamond ate once every three to four days. She was not a big snake but she was a slightly long one and she needed a lot of mice to keep her from hunger. 

 

" _Tomorrow..._ " Was the hissed response before the snake went back to sleep. 

 

Iolanthe waited several moments before pushing the clothes gently back onto the snake. If only the Dursleys were so easy to please. But then again, they wanted her to fail so it didn't hurt that she didn't care. 

 

**\----ooooOooOoooo----**

 

Petunia pushed Iolanthe out the door the moment she woke up, with a list of chores to complete by the end of the day. She had to stop herself from falling flat on her face because the daft cow put extra strength behind the push. The sun was a great big ball of heat in the summer day and there wasn't even the smallest bit of clouds to cover it up. Iolanthe's face was already beginning to sweat. 

 

She let her eyes rove around the flower garden that was Petunia's pride and joy. She had to finish the weeding, planting, pruning, raking, and mowing of the lawn by the day's end or she would be sent to bed without dinner again. 

 

Drinking from the hose wasn't possible because Petunia was always watching like a hawk. She never called the Dursleys "Aunt" or "Uncle" in her head because they weren't. Normal Aunts and Uncles didn't shove their nieces into cupboards, they didn't hurt them, and they didn't give them chores that made them "earn their keep". 

 

She used to be surprised by the number of adults who never noticed the bruises on her or the skinniness of her frame compared to other children her age. Then she read the laws on child guardianship in the UK. People weren't legally expected to report what the Dursleys were doing to her and if they wanted to, Vernon would have had a word with them. 

 

Having a sister was friends with several judges as well as being person golfing buddies with the district superintendent helped him. The St. Gregory's headmistress regularly had tea with Petunia and the woman hated her with a passion.  

 

Sighing, Iolanthe started raking the lawn. 

 

Thankfully she wasn't bothered by anyone, even by Dudley and his gang when they ran past the house chasing another kid. Iolanthe didn't even bat an eyelash or get up to help the younger boy. It would just bring their attention to her and she'd end up getting the stuffing beat out of her again. 

 

She sighed and pushed her sweaty hair out of her face. It was longer than any other girl's in the school and was never styled. Petunia would never hear of it, always saying that she wasn't worth the money to go to the beauty salon. In their minds it was expected for girls to have long hair and Iolanthe wasn't brave enough to cut if off with the kitchen scissors.  

 

It might be Vernon's punches she dreaded but Petunia was the one to withhold meals unless she did as she was told. Iolanthe was actually lucky if she got more than ten meals a week. 

 

Raking. Weeding. Planting. Pruning. Watering. 

 

By the end of it she was sweatier than Dudley in gym class. Her eyes slid to the hose. She could probably get away with using the water on herself _but_ , her eyes slid to the window nearest her. Petunia would use it as another reason to keep food away. 

 

Instead, she turned on the water enough for her hand to be filled and washed her face quickly, turning it off again. 

 

Patting her face dry with her ratty t-shirt, Iolanthe grabbed all the gardening tools and put them in the shed. She stopped on her way out. Vernon's toolbox was lying on the floor on the far corner and a toolbox meant a flashlight. 

 

No more reading in the dark because she was afraid of Vernon realizing the bulb in the cupboard was on. 

 

When working on the shed next month, Vernon would find his toolbox missing a flashlight. Nothing would prompt him to consider his freak niece to be the thief. 

 

**\----ooooOooOoooo----**

 

Quietly cursing under her breath, using words that would have Petunia hit her with the frying pan again, Iolanthe huffed and let her backpack drop. Dudley had stolen her homework. Again. This was the third time and the term only started last month. 

 

Thankfully she'd learned early on to always have extra copies stashed in her cupboard and his second bedroom. 

 

The look on his face was priceless! Only the teacher's attention on the class kept him from throwing something at her. 

 

When the bell signaled the end of class, Iolanthe walked quickly out the door and vanished into the mass of noisy kids. She later surfaced in the entrance to the library, the door opening and closing soundlessly. 

 

The smell of paper and light dust permeated her nose. Iolanthe took a deep breath and let it fill her senses, striding through the stacks to her regular table. The librarian didn't even bat an eyelash at her being here, she was used to the odd Potter girl coming in during recess that it didn't even register in her senses anymore. 

 

She dumped everything onto the table and started going through the books. The earlier she finished her homework the more time she'd have to read what books she wanted. 

 

Maths was easy. She quickly penciled in the answers to the multiplications table and shoved the paper into her only notebook. She supposed she was lucky that the supplies for St. Gregory's were free or the Dursleys would be sending her to classes with only a pencil and a piece of paper. 

 

If there was time she'd go to the copy shop next door and have several copies of the homeworks made before next week. It lost her several pounds a month but it made sure she didn't end up in any more detentions for the term. 

 

The bell rang again, signaling the beginning of lunch. Iolanthe shoved all papers into her bag and left. She'd packed herself a small lunch that Petunia only allowed so the school didn't ask questions. It was one of the few times she knew she would be eating regularly. 

 

Iolanthe merged with the hungry crowd of kids, sneaking an apple off the lunch cart when no one was looking. She'd gotten better at this after a few tries but was almost busted once. Thankfully the lunch lady believed her when she said she was just putting it back on the cart after it had fallen off. 

 

She sat in front of the hall monitor who made sure Dudley never bothered her. She'd pay for that later but it would be worth the chance to have some peace and quiet for a few minutes. She had to put up with the pig every day after all.  

 

Next came French class. Now _this_ was fun. Mrs. Johnson had them learn the words for colors and they were going to start writing in sentences next week. Dudley didn't take the class so she was free of him for the next hour. 

 

Happily, she settled into a seat in the front row and pulled out another notebook she'd filched from Dudley's second bedroom. The idiot wouldn't miss it. 

 

**\----ooooOooOoooo----**

 

Iolanthe panted in exertion, running at full speed to escape the idiots at her back. 

 

Now, she might be regularly starved and thin as a stick, but Iolanthe was a fast runner. She'd had a lot of practice after all, and this was no different. 

 

Only, something out of the ordinary happened. 

 

She was in such a state of panic, because the last time the idiots had beaten her up she'd landed in the hospital for two days only to be discharged back to the Dursleys where she was promptly stuffed back in her cupboard. She didn't want to go back to the hospital again because they'd fixed her broken arm without any anesthesia because Petunia wouldn't let them. Stupid horse. 

 

Once second she's running on the ground and the next second Iolanthe felt as if she was being shoved through a tube. She landed on her behind on the roof of the school with a painful THUNK, scraping her elbows and getting the breath knocked out of her. Pain flared at the impact and she had to hold in the gasp that would alert everyone she was there.  

 

From somewhere below, she could hear Dudley shouting. Knowing it was better to be standing when dealing with him rather than lying on the ground, she carefully pulled herself up, dusted herself off, and slowly kneeled off the side of the roof to listen to Dudley trying to figure out where she'd gone and how she had disappeared so quickly.  

 

It was quite amusing though she too wondered how she had gotten here. 

 

Strange things like this had happened often enough during her younger years. Iolanthe had pushed them to the back of her mind to deal with the more immediate problems (like earning her food for the day) that she hadn't put much thought into them. 

 

One of the substitute teachers who believed Petunia's rumors yelled at her for something Dudley did, even though everyone with eyes could see that Iolanthe had been on the other side of the room. His hair had turned blue, which ended up with her in the Headmistress's office, another person who was friends with Vernon and believed those stupid rumors. She called the Dursleys to her office and it ended with Iolanthe getting a beating and being shoved into her cupboard for three days, only being let out for baths and bathroom breaks. Petunia couldn't stand the smell of her if she didn't bathe. 

 

Dudley's horrid jumper that Petunia tried to force on her had shrunk until it was the size of a sock puppet. It was the first time the Dursleys hadn't punished her for something odd happening though Iolanthe could hear Petunia muttering to herself while walking away.  

 

Dudley and Piers had thought it funny when they tried to drown her in the neighborhood pool during mandatory swimming classes. In the end, it was Dudley who ended up in the deep end of he pool rather than her. Thankfully the instructors blamed him rather than her. Rough housing during swimming classes was frowned upon, _heavily_.  

 

Iolanthe could even clearly remember as far back as her fourth birthday when Vernon had come back to the house drunk and twisted her arm enough to make it snap. All the windows exploded, raining glass throughout the house. It made Vernon even more angry and the beating that followed had her stomach hurting for the rest of the day.  

 

She didn't know what this strange power was, and it was power, but she could feel it underneath her skin, flowing through her blood like a mesmerizing song. Now that she thought about it, she'd used it consciously for the first time, at the age of five, to steal food from the pantry in the middle of the night. 

 

Petunia sent her to her cupboard without dinner for failing to finish the gardening on time. Vernon added a slap for good measure and Dudley kicked her in the shin, bruising the already tender skin.  

 

Iolanthe had been so hungry, her bloated stomach feeling emptier than it ever had, and half delirious from exhaustion. She couldn't remember what had been going through her mind but she could remember the desperation in her heart for something to just get her out of the cupboard...and the lock on the door snicked back.  

 

There were also the little things. Being able to tell when someone was lying, sometimes seeing a strange red shimmering and almost transparent dome-like shape over the house of Privet Drive, and on occasion, feeling like something was being _pulled_ out of her though she couldn't tell what it was. The latter left her with a nasty headache for the rest of the week and there was nothing she could find that was the cause of it. 

 

"Where's the freak?!" Dudley whined. Though he'd say he was demanding. Iolanthe's attention returned to the idiots on the ground. 

 

His minions, Piers, Malcolm, Dennis, and Gordon looked around before shrugging, not saying anything more. None of them wanted to draw Dudley's attention to themselves. It was alright to beat up the freak since she didn't fight back but they wouldn't put it past the fat boy to hit one of them because his favorite punching bag had disappeared. 

 

Iolanthe could practically feel the nervousness and the desperation coming off them and settled down to watch. It wasn't everyday that she got to see Dudley run around like a chicken with it's head cut off.

**Author's Note:**

> Updates will be infrequent


End file.
